Optimizing hybrid energy storage systems for wind farms

The development of renewable energies, such as wind energy, could help reduce carbon emission. But wind is volatile, intermittent and random. Wind fluctuations can affect the electricity quality of wind power systems connected to the grid. A hybrid energy storage system, which combines single energy storage systems, allows stable control of wind power.

Du et al. developed a methodology to optimize hybrid energy storage systems for large-scale on-grid wind farms. Their system uses high power and high energy storage to reduce wind fluctuations.

From six mathematical models of hybrid energy storage systems, the authors selected the optimal combination. They then applied this hybrid energy storage system model to the real Caka wind farm in the Qinghai province in China. Results showed that their hybrid energy storage system could improve the electricity quality, as well as reduce both costs and output fluctuations.

The authors suggest their model could be used as a reference for the construction of future hybrid energy storage systems for wind power. They plan to promote the application of their results in the construction of a wind farm in Qinghai, but believe the model could also be applied elsewhere.

“The results proposed can be widely applied in planning renewable energy systems of wind and energy storage,” said author Chao Ma. “We believe that the proposed model will be more acceptable in the future with a foreseeable cost reduction of energy storage.”

Next, the authors will conduct further research on the real-time control of wind and energy storage systems.

Source: “Multi-objective optimal sizing of hybrid energy storage systems for grid-connected wind farms using fuzzy control,” by Rui Du, Penghui Zou, and Chao Ma, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy (2021). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0031696 .